All day i watched flies lick my flea-bitten, honey coated ankles. My ankles had honey on them because i was told at the "honey centre" that honey can cure most any ailment. I got flea bites within the first week of our trip and i wake up most nights itching them to hell. I am determined to itch them right off my ankles, but of course i am only hurting myself. So, i resorted to honey. Other than give the flies a sweet treat, i don't think it worked. In fact, i think they might have multiplied just to spite me. In usual Dionna fashion I wait until discomfort reaches an all time high, and THEN i do something about it. When we went into town today, we stopped at a small organic shop. The gal working their tells me that tea tree oil will do the trick with the damn flea bites. Two words...thanks Mom. You know what i mean. Anyway, the gal who is saving my legs, seems to have an extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs, so i say as much to her. In a snooty sort of tone, she says that she has lived her life by these herbs...my question for her, why'd they make her so grumpy? hmmm...
Before the flea-bite solutions, but after the bites, Seth and I spent a solid four days pursuing the perfect vehicle for our New Zealand adventures. The used car market for backpackers is grueling work. You have got to sift through the vans with lice infested, pre-installed (previously sweated in) mattresses that smell like mildew, the soccer mom Previas that aren't quite big enough, you have to fret over whether to wait the four weeks before you can get the pimped out van of your used car dreams...OR save yourself the headache and decide that it is better to notch down your expectations. The beauty we finally chose, inside which i am now writing this blog, upon our clean duvet that sits on top of our freshly installed bed frame, is a metallic turquoise, 1994 Mitsubishi Delica. We never knew a van could be this cool. And now, it's home.
God is good folks. Seth and I don't know every step of this journey, but our desire is to stay the course (right dad?). We set out to buy and kit-out a van, and God provided. Through the process we learned that you have to expect the unexpected or you end up being disappointed a lot of the time. We also learned (and ARE learning) that we, Seth and I, are two different people, with different ways of thinking and unique ways of processing...as we have to make decisions and choose paths to take, God is showing us that without his leadership, Headship, we can get easily sidetracked.
Pride is something else i am learning about, and surprise surprise, I have it in spades. Pridefully, i never thought i was a prideful person, hah! Praise God for Seth and his gentle way with me. I think I don't want to come across as incompetent in any way. But the truth is, i am incompetent about a lot of things i don't know. You are probably going to hear heaps about this in the coming months. Hope for the future: letting go of my fear, embracing His peace, stepping into safe vulnerability among those who love me, trust in Him growing deeper and stronger...it might be awhile...forever maybe...but there's time.
Seth wants to write some stuff too, so i will let him do that in the next blog. Thanks for reading. It feels good to write to you instead of my journal. Your love is real to us and we think about you often. We pray that God is blessing you and keeping you...His fabulous face shining on you.
